


Beast of Void

by YourConsentingMind



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, But it's not exactly a werecreature in a traditional sense, F/F, Hornet is a werecreature in a way, The Pale King is a Good Parent (Hollow Knight)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourConsentingMind/pseuds/YourConsentingMind
Summary: Ever since the outbreak, Hornet has been trying to live as best as possible in a world completely overrun by Infected. She is one of the few people still alive in Hallownest, thanks to being immune to the disease that rapidly spread through the kingdom.Life is becoming more difficult each day, and Hornet sees no other way but to flee to a new kingdom - but that is easier said than done, especially ever since she and her siblings were forced to split up. Now, she searches for her siblings and any other survivors while making her way to the only way to exit Hallownest.Unfortunately, something else within her chooses to come out at the worst times.
Relationships: God Tamer/Hornet (Hollow Knight), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Kudos: 8





	Beast of Void

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Look who's writing Hollow Knight fanfic again after not having done so since... what 2019?

_She looks at the blanket that lay on her knees, grasping at it with tiny, fearful claws. Her head turns to the last remaining light in her room, watching the sleek yet soft figure enter the room, looking at her with concern._

“ _...Dad?” Her voice is nearly as silent as the squeak of a Mosscreep, her breath hitching at the very thought. Little droplets form at the corners of her eyes, her vision blurring. She feels wrong, she is afraid._

“ _Yes, my child?” His voice is calm and comforting. She feels... safer. Whatever was to happen... he would protect her, would he not?_

“ _Will the monster come again tonight?” she asks, suppressing a little sob. Her small claws shake as she tries to pull her blanket closer._

_He gives a gentle laugh, walking up to the bedside of the little girl, shaking his head. “No... it will not come, sweetheart. And if it did.. I would be here to make sure it can't hurt you.”_

_His words sound so truthful, and she feels a bit better just by hearing them. She is still afraid... but not as much. Because whatever might come, her dad would be here to protect her, to make sure she is safe._

_She gives him a soft hug, a small smile forming. “Thank you, dad,” she murmurs, closing her eyes. He returns the gesture, patting the child on the head. “Of course, my child,” he replies._

_She scurries beneath the blanket, him pulling it over her carefully._

“ _Goodnight, Hornet, I love you,” he says as he turns back around one last time before he leaves the room._

“ _I love you too, dad,”_

…

_**Dad...?** _

_**These shadows are so scary...** _

_**Dad...? Where are you...?** _

_**Please...** _

_**I can't fight it...** _

_**I'm sorry...** _

_**\---  
  
** _ She groans, slowly pushing herself up. She blacked out again... what happened?

Her eyes open, blinded temporarely by the bright light of the outside world.

Everything was sore. Her back, her arms, her legs – all of them hurt. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing, and her eyes were still struggling to adjust to the sudden brightness.

While she was pushing herself up, she took note of the inky, gooey substance her hands came into contact with. As her sight came back to her, she looked down at it.

The puddle of dark around her spoke for itself, not to mention the splatters of orange tinting the walls.

She lost control again.

Her muscles weren't exactly cooperating yet as she struggles to try and stand up, pain shooting through her body at the attempt. She quickly gave up, deciding to wait just a few minutes until she was really conscious.

A low growl caught her attention. Her gaze meets with that of grossly deformed Pilflip, stalking towards her.

Not an ideal time, but nothing she couldn't handle. Plus, the thing probably wouldn't even see her until she moved. She knows they have horrible vision. Until it would notice her, she would've already grabbed her needle and killed it.

But then a second, a third and a fourth Pilflip show up.

Normally no problem, but she was kind of out of commission right now. And one seems to have noticed her, as the small group was slowly skittering closer to her.

She strains to try and move, but it fails miserably, unable to get up still, or even hold her needle.

She's preparing for the worst internally, but as she shuts her eyes to look away from the gross, bulging beings, she hears someone's call and a few swift slashes in front of her, followed by a more distant sploshing sound.

She carefully opens her eyes, gaze meeting with that of someone who seemed just slightly familiar to her.

It had been so long since the outbreak... there were few survivors. Almost all of them were immune – there were even fewer that had found some other way to protect themselves, usually through soul or void magic.

To meet a familiar face in such an apocalyptic world... was incredibly unlikely.

“Can you hear me?”

The voice calls her back to reality. She looks up at the ant girl standing above her, worry flickering in her eyes.

“Yes,” she replies, voice hoarse. She was still trying to put a name to the one before her... She knew her. Maybe from before the outbreak...? God, that was a long time ago.

“Are you okay?” the ant girl asks softly, holding out a hand for Hornet to take, who obliges, but she is still wonky on her feet as she gets up, causing the other to put the spider's arm over her shoulder to help keep her steady.

“I'm fine,” she answers, “just a bit sore,”

That voice was... so familiar. She didn't really interact with that many people outside the palace or Distant Village when she was younger. She skims through those she knew from back then... Wait-

“Tama?!” she exclaims in surprise, looking at the girl, who looks back at her, just as shocked as Hornet was.

“Y-You know my name?!” the ant replies, seeming quite confused.

“Of course! We used to hang out when I was at the palace and snuck off to the city-”

“Hornet?!” Tama blinks.

“Yes!”

The two stare at each other for a moment.

“I-I thought you... I thought you--” Tama stammered, wrapping her arms around Hornet. “So much has happened... I thought you didn't make it.”

The ant girl's grip is tight, and she isn't letting go. She thought for years that Hornet had died with the many other residents of the Distant Village when the outbreak began.

To see her best friend right here... her breath hitches as she holds back some tears of happiness.

Hornet returns the hug, trying to pat Tama's back to the best of her ability – her body was still not cooperating a hundred percent, but it was better than before.

The quiet growls and steps of the Infected tore them back to reality.

Tama looks at Hornet. “Let's get out of here before more of them come,” she murmurs, “can you walk?”

Hornet nods. “I can handle it.”

Carefully and silently, the two leave the area, slowly making their way to King's Station, cautious to not alert any of the nearby Infected.

For some years now, this is the state Hallownest was in. An infection overtook it, spreading rapidly, turning the once sentient and friendly bugs into mindless, hostile monsters.

Some were immune to it – Hornet, her half-siblings, the student of the teacher at the Archives. Other improvised with magic, like the Snail Shaman. Most others were not so lucky.

With the Infected many and survivors few, Hallownest was essentially doomed. Nobody knew the source of the infection, and there was not enough time to try and study it and develop a cure. The survivors are spread thin over many different areas within the fallen kingdom, just trying to stay alive. Some places are nearly as they were before the infection ran rampant: Like the Mantis Village, as the Mantis Lords and their people are naturally immune to the disease. On the flipside, places like the City of Tears are crawling with these things, especially due to high population density.

As the spread continued and hope quickly dwindled, her father sealed Hallownest from the rest of the world. The infection is stuck within Hallownest and cannot ravage other lands like Pharloom. Many believed this was a mistake, but Hornet thinks her father made the right choice – but maybe that is only because she is immune and gets to stay as she was, unlike the unfortunate bugs who were not. But saving the other kingdoms out there at the sacrifice of Hallownest, especially considering how rapidly the infection spread, seemed like the best choice. She could hardly imagine how the other lands might've suffered had this choice not been made.

Nonetheless, it was becoming hard to live in Hallownest, and not just because of the Infected that lurked at just about every corner- food was becoming scarce slowly but surely and the infection was starting to greatly affect the different biomes of Hallownest, not just its inhabitants.

There was one way one might still be able to exit Hallownest. The gate was sealed, but it could be opened manually, unlike any other entrances, which her father sealed with a combination of void and soul magic.

Luckily, the Infected were too mindless to operate such a system. But Hornet knew how it functioned – she only had to reach its location.  
  
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. And beside that, her siblings and her were split apart, so now she searches for them in addition, as well as any other survivor there may be. It would be best for all survivors to leave together, not just for their own sake, but because this would ensure no one would need to re-open the gate after Hornet had done so, leaving the Infected trapped in Hallownest forever. A cruel fate, but there was no other option.

High at the tops of King's Station's stag station, Hornet and Tama sat together, discussing what had happened ever since the outbreak between the two of them. Hornet told of her siblings and her, how their father had brought them away to the Queen's Gardens, but that those too were eventually overrun with infected, forcing them to leave. Now they were split up and Hornet tries to find them and any other survivor before she would leave Hallownest through the sealed door.

Tama was at a core place of the infection when it first spread. The City of Tears was quickly overrun and she ran off to the Colosseum in Kingdom's Edge with some other survivors, but their little fortress of sorts was eventually overrun too, causing them to have to flee. Unfortunately, she lost track of her group when the siege happened at the Colosseum, and she has no clue where any of them are now, if they are even still alive.

Their conversation was cut short when the two were attacked by a Soul Warrior.

A creature twisted not only by infection, but also by the power of Soul magic infused within it. When the infection spread, some tried to learn how to use such magic to protect themselves, but such a thing is a long process. The rushed attempt lead to corruption from magic.

The two managed to dodge just in time, splitting apart, with the Soul Warrior between them. Hornet quickly unsheathed her needle, while Tama took her lance from her back.

The Soul Warrior goes for Tama, while Hornet tries to get it caught up in her silk thread, but she is attacked by two Soul Twisters.

At first, the fight remains even, but Hornet was still exhausted from before, causing the tide of battle to turn in favor for the Soul Twisters. A shock courses through her body as she is struck with soul magic once again.

Tama wasn't doing any better. She had previously gotten an injury on her leg, causing her to rely on stealth attacks more than anything. Head-on fighting was not going well for her.

Hornet saw the Soul Warrior manage to smack the weapon out of her hand, grabbing Tama by the neck, holding her up. Hornet had seen this before – they slowly drain their victim's soul energy until there was nothing left, killing them.

Seeing Tama in such danger- Hornet had to do something...! She struggled free from the spell cast upon her, but it didn't take long for her to feel herself losing control.

It happens every time she becomes too enraged. She remembers her father telling about what happens when she gets very angry. He tried to help her, at least try to teach her how to control this. Over the long years of the infection, that she had lost or forgotten. It became harder to try and control each day, causing Hornet to just give it up.

A sharp pain strikes her as she feels the changes set in.

No, no no no. This was not a good time.

But it was too late. Once it sets in, there's no going back.

She feels the chitin cracking as her body takes on a new shape. That darkness begins crawling up her limbs again, and she knows resistance is futile. Before she could notice, she had already blacked out.

The Soul Warrior barely stood a chance against this new beast.

Now it hovered over Tama, who stares up in fear.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi welcome to the end notes with things for those curious
> 
> -hornet is not void but, uh, basically accidentally stumbled into her dad's void magic experiments and now she got a cool new form called Voidbeast. unfortunately she doesn't know how to control it and it comes out periodically like lycanthropy and additionally whenever she gets rlly pissed. she'll figure it out eventually  
> -ill add more whenever i remember more things to add lol


End file.
